The Lesson (Primary Title)
A Young Boy (Alternate Title)
Portrait of a Young Boy (Alternate Title)
Ludolf De Jongh, Dutch, 1616 - 1679 (Artist)
This portrait illustrates the 17th-century Dutch conviction that discipline learned in childhood determines one’s future path in life. Here, a beautifully dressed little boy is giving his dog a “lesson” in how to sit upright like a human. The compliant pet implies that the boy, too, is well disciplined. The perfect rose at the boy’s feet underscores the picture’s moralizing message: just as carefully tending a rosebush results in beautiful flowers (left rear), a carefully tended child grows into a fine adult.
Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund
Two Republics: 17th Century Dutch & 19th Century American Art for the Common Man, The Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA, October 5, 2014 – January 11, 2015
Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt, The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, September 26, 2001 - January 20, 2002; Denver Museum, Denver, CO, March 2 - May 26, 2002
Children’s Portraits in the Low Countries 1550-1700, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, October 8 - December 31, 2000; Koniklijk voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, January 22- April 21, 2001
Life in Holland in the 17th Century, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, January - May, 1975
The International Art Treasures Exhibition, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1962
Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt, The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, September 26, 2001 - January 20, 2002; Denver Museum, Denver, CO, March 2 - May 26, 2002
Children’s Portraits in the Low Countries 1550-1700, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, October 8 - December 31, 2000; Koniklijk voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, January 22- April 21, 2001
Life in Holland in the 17th Century, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, January - May, 1975
The International Art Treasures Exhibition, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1962
(Unknown dealer, Paris) by 1913; [1] Collection of H. Pryce, Esq., Teignmouth, Devon. (Leonard Koetser Ltd., London) by 1963; Purchased by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Richmond, Virginia in September of 1963. [2]
[1] Unconfirmed. Art historian Peter C. Sutton, specialist in 17th Century Dutch art, believes that this painting was incorrectly attributed to Pieter de Hooch under the title "Portrait of a Prince of Orange," and sold in Paris on January 25, 1813. Letter from Peter C. Sutton dated March 28, 1978. See VMFA Curatorial file and Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the 17th Century, Volume I (London: Macmillan, 1907), p. 566, no. 323.
[2] Accessioned on September 6, 1963. See VMFA Curatorial file.
[1] Unconfirmed. Art historian Peter C. Sutton, specialist in 17th Century Dutch art, believes that this painting was incorrectly attributed to Pieter de Hooch under the title "Portrait of a Prince of Orange," and sold in Paris on January 25, 1813. Letter from Peter C. Sutton dated March 28, 1978. See VMFA Curatorial file and Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the 17th Century, Volume I (London: Macmillan, 1907), p. 566, no. 323.
[2] Accessioned on September 6, 1963. See VMFA Curatorial file.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.